European Roma Rights Center A Pleasant Fiction The Human Rights Situation of Roma in Macedonia Country Reports Series, No. 7. July 1998 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS page Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................6 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 7 2. Germany I .....................................................................................................................12 3. Roma Made Stateless by the Act on Citizenship of the Republic of Macedonia ............................................................................................................... 17 3.1. One Year of Simple Procedure .....................................................................19 3.2. Aliens ................................................................................................................. 24 3.3. Stateless ............................................................................................................. 28 4. Ethnic Tensions on the Rise ..................................................................................... 31 5. You Gypsies Don't Know How to Live Properly: Police and Judicial Abuse of Roma in Macedonia ..................................................................................43 5.1. Police Abuse of Roma in Macedonia ...........................................................47 5.1.1. Police Abuse of Roma in the Context of the 1995 Law on Commerce ............................................................................................. 47 5.1.2. Impromptu Punishment by the Police ............................................. 64 5.2. Down-Playing Hate Crime Against Roma .................................................. 70 6. Uncertain Ground: Abuse of Roma by Municipal Authorities ........................... 74 6.1. Destruction of Property, Non-Compensation for Destruction of Property and Threat of Eviction .................................................................. 74 6.2. Discriminatory Application of Building Restrictions ................................75 6.3. Failure to Provide Infrastructure .................................................................. 80 6.4. Discriminatory Allocation of Social Welfare Payments ............................ 82 7. Abuses of Political Rights of Roma in Macedonia ............................................... 84 8. Education: A Lost Generation of Romani Youth ................................................. 87 9. Service Bans on Roma in Public Establishments .................................................. 91 Copyright: © European Roma Rights Center, July 1998 10. Conclusion: Germany II ............................................................................................ 92 All rights reserved. 11. A Just Settlement: Recommendations of the European Roma Rights Center to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia ................................................... 95 ISBN 963 03 5387 3 12. Bibliography ..................................................................................................................98 ISSN 1416-7409 13. Appendix .....................................................................................................................103 Graphic Design: Createch Ltd./Judit Kovács 14. Abstract in Romani ....................................................................................................105 Printed in Budapest, Hungary. For information of reprint policy, please contact the ERRC 5 A Pleasant Fiction: the Human Rights Situation of Roma in Macedonia Introduction ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Roma cannot get a fair trial in Macedonia. If the punishment is five years, they will give you ten. If a Rom speaks in front of a judge, the judge won't believe him. You can get a lawyer if you have the money, but the lawyers won't believe you either. I would trust a This report was prepared by the staff of the European Roma Rights Center. The ERRC Romani lawyer, but if there were Romani lawyers, the judges is grateful for the time, effort and help given by the following people, without whom wouldn't believe them. the preparation of this report would have been impossible: Roma and non-Roma agreed to be interviewed about the human rights situation of 20-year-old Dan Akivovski, Roma in Macedonia, as well as about Macedonian law, society and history. Where Z¢ivkova Karpa neighbourhood, Kumanovo, individuals have permitted, names are directly ascribed. August 1997 Ana Matan acted as translator and organiser of the ERRC field mission and she pursued follow-up investigation. Her family graciously hosted the ERRC 's visit in Skopje, and assisted with research. Dr Thomas Acton, Bob Cohen, Mozes Heinschink and Khristo Kyuchukov provided expertise on Romani and non-Romani culture and history in Macedonia and elsewhere in Europe. Christina Crowder, Anna Catherine Gehriger, Rossitza Guencheva, Goran Janev, 1. INTRODUCTION Meto Jovanovski and Igorc¢o Todorov read partial or full drafts of the report and provided substantive and stylistic comment on them. The Republic of Macedonia1 currently enjoys the reputation of being exceptional in its treatment of Roma in comparison with other central and eastern European states. Macedonia is considered by researchers in the West as a place where Roma do not suffer the same overt racism and racist violence as elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Skopje has a visible Romani presence and many of the traditional Romani crafts, such as smithing, are still practised professionally. The Romani language can be heard openly on the street in Skopje; it has not been driven into secret use as it has in many places in Central Europe. Roma are, additionally, mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution as enjoying full equality and permanent coexistence with the Mace- donian people along with Albanians, Turks, Vlachs and other nationalities. Roma are also explicitly mentioned in Article 78 of the Constitution, which establishes a 1 In some international bodies, Macedonia is officially recognised as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. For the purpose of simplicity in this report, the country is referred to as Macedonia. 6 7 A Pleasant Fiction: the Human Rights Situation of Roma in Macedonia Introduction Council for Inter-Ethnic Relations.2 There are Romani police officers, Romani Insofar as group rights and societal status are concerned, the Roma of representatives of Romani parties in parliament, several Romani-language radio Macedonia appear to enjoy a far more advantageous situation than do their stations and two private Romani television stations. Finally, the almost completely counterparts in Greece, Bulgaria or Romania. They are better organised Roma municipality of uto Orizari, popularly known as utka3, stands for many and more cohesive politically. And the government of President Kiro Roma as the fulfilled dream of autonomy, a glimpse of the future. Gligorov appears genuinely sympathetic to their condition. Moreover, in Macedonia there is less evidence of the overt racism toward Roma that is The view that Roma enjoy relatively better treatment in Macedonia than elsewhere so apparent in both Bulgaria and Romania. There has been a marked lack in the Balkans or in Central and Eastern Europe was endorsed by a 1996 publication of incidents and attacks on the Roma by the local population, in contrast by the New York-based human rights organisation Human Rights Watch/Helsinki: to the situation in many other Eastern European countries.6 Comparatively speaking, the Roma community in Macedonia is better off In accord with its mission to monitor the human rights situation of Roma in than in other countries of the region. There are a number of Roma Europe, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) began research into the human rights political, social and cultural organisations functioning in Macedonia, and a situation of Roma in Macedonia in 1996. In August 1997, the ERRC conducted a field Roma party is represented in parliament. Roma are recognised in the mission to Macedonia to investigate allegations of police and other abuses of Roma constitution as a nationality, and relations with the ethnic Macedonian rights. Much reporting on Roma in Macedonia has, to date, tended to focus on Skopje, population are generally good.4 and especially on the Romani quarter of uto Orizari. The ERRC therefore conducted research also in Romani communities outside the capital, in the interest of providing a Human Rights Watch also reported that, Unlike other countries in the Balkans, Roma fuller picture of the situation of Roma in Macedonia. Skopje was not neglected, do not complain of systematic abuse by the police.5 however, and human rights abuse was documented there. Three years earlier, Hugh Poulton of the London-based Minority Rights Group had The ERRC sought to establish the facts in instances of alleged human rights drawn similar conclusions about the situation of Roma in Macedonia: abuse by collecting evidence to support allegations. The competent authorities were asked for comments regarding the validity of victims claims, as well as to ascertain whether or not allegations had been investigated fully, and those responsible prosecuted and punished. 2 Article 78 states: (1) The Assembly [the parliamentary body in Macedonia] establishes a Council for Inter-Ethnic Relations. (2) The Council consists of the President of